EEMINISCENCES OF THE LEWS. 15 



not inviting ; tlie food, wlien you arrived with- 

 out notice, not of the first order. The mutton 

 — generally good in Scotland — what Highland 

 mutton where they smear hard can be — an out- 

 ward sort of thick rind, like that of a wild boar, 

 with a thin layer of fat between it and the all 

 but invisible lean that adheres to the bone, and 

 that thin line strongly impregnated with the 

 taste of the smear. But it is of the chickens I 

 have the strongest remembrance. We had a 

 couple for dinner the day of our arrival. We 

 tried our hands and teeth on one : no impres- 

 sion. The next day, the remaining untried 

 gentleman was sent out for our luncheon. We 

 tried him cold, with the same success as the 

 day before. We handed him over to the High- 

 land keeper, who, after various futile endea- 

 vours, passed him on to Snow and Muggro, 

 our two dogs. They had been refusing porridge 

 in disgust for days, and, though half famished, 

 could not break up that singulabr bird. But for 

 a cold lobster (and that none o? the best), I do 

 not know what would have been the conse- 

 quences of that particular day. 



Fortunately, we caught plenty of sea-trout. 

 In all Highland inns there are eggs and 

 good preserves, and in this there was a won- 

 derful servant, who made all those curious 



